So...whats for dinner?

Lacey - So sorry to hear about your nasty fall! Please take it easy and rest/recover. I too have had vision changes (none of them good) with chemo. Now that I am PFC I'm hoping that things will improve a bit.

Your paella night looks amazing; Spanish flags and all!

The Irish stew (grass fed beef, Guinness, carrots, parsnips and Yukon Gold potatoes, with a bit of bittersweet chocolate and espresso to reinforce the Guinness flavor and a T each of worcestershire, fish sauce and soy sauce for umami) came out great in the Instant Pot; meat was tender and sauce well developed. I did add freshly sauteed carrots to the stew when I rewarmed it, for better texture.

Made Irish brown soda bread to go with it and we'll be having more of that for breakfast.

Probably pasta and salad for dinner this evening. Something simple; either anchovies/garlic/breadcrumbs or carbonara.

OUCH, Lacey! Depth perception was the main reason why I took at least a week off from driving after my first cataract surgery--one "new" eye looking through a flat eyeglass lens, the other looking through the remaining prescription lens. At six days out, I got into my car, backed out of the garage, and once in the alley realized I couldn't judge yet how close I was getting to the plastic dumpsters--so I reluctantly drove back into the garage. Didn't want to chance clipping the sides & mirrors of other cars on our narrow one-way streets.

Another reason was that I did have a bit of a hemorrhage on the operated eye (required a suture to place that lens), and I looked downright scary in clear glasses. The first errand I ran after the bandage came off was to take an Uber to the mall (took the bus & L back) and at LensCrafters buy a pair each of gradient non-Rx Wayfarers and glamorous bling-y cat-eye shades for going out to the two Black Tie Galas From Hell coming up before the next surgery. I looked mysterious but elegant. But the surgery also caused some temporary "flaring" in that eye (weird-small L-shaped streaks coming off the bottom right of lights), which was too distracting at night. My Uber account got quite a bit of exercise.

Finally, when the flares disappeared and the redness mostly faded, my depth perception had adjusted well enough to drive--IIRC, abt. 10 days. Had the other eye done two months later, and went without glasses (except readers & sun--and had to use a ton of undereye concealer) until I was able to be refracted three weeks after that. (That time my depth perception was spot-on and I drove within a couple of days post-op). I did still need some reading and a tiny bit of astigmatism correction, and had my 20/20 distance vision corrected to 20/15. Drove out of the mall the night I got my new Rx filled, and marveled as to how many blocks further I could see traffic lights and street signs so much more sharply.

My cataracts had been "percolating" for about a dozen years, and a few months before my bc dx I noticed "backlight silhouetting" had begun setting in. But letrozole definitely accelerated the ripening--to the point where (after abt. 6 mos. taking it), I played a festival on a tented unlit stage, facing the sun. I wore sunglasses. But to my horror, I realized I could see my guitar neck but not the fret markers on the side binding--which had always been my "anchor" guides for certain songs I had to play up & down the neck without more than a cursory glance at the guitar. Let's just say my set that day had a few avant-garde "I wrote it that way" chords. I also found that ever stronger reading glasses just weren't cutting it, so I went to get refracted. The optometrist at LensCrafters told me that my reading correction hadn't changed (+2.50 for 5 yrs) but the reason I was finding reading so difficult was that I was trying to read through clouded lenses. So cloudy, in fact, that she couldn't even finish my exam because she couldn't visualize the backs of my retinas. Went home and callled my ophthalmologist and said simply, "it's time."

Had corned beef hash & an egg for breakfast yesterday, just in case I couldn't get out in time for corned beef & cabbage for dinner (last year, Cellars ran out within an hour). I cut about a cupful of diced onions, bell peppers and poblanos into it, and topped it with a fried egg. Cellars did have enough this time--Tom, the owner/chef, bought a 70-lb. brisket, corned it for 10 days, and rather than boiling, braised it for 7 hrs. It was incredibly juicy & beefy and nicely flavored--it was topped with a Guinness-coarse Dijon sauce. Sides were steamed carrots and "Colcannon potatoes:" mashed potatoes studded with sauteed cabbage. I ended up taking 1/3 of the beef and half the sides home. Have to cook that strip steak tonight now that it's fully-thawed, so will eat those leftovers tomorrow night (or if Gordy comes home tonight instead of staying over at his girlfriend's, offer them to him).

Got to Cellars in time to catch the last couple minutes of the Loyola game--our neighborhood school, literally (we bought our house from the chairman of their English Dept.)--and the place fell silent when TN tied the score, then went up by 1 on a free throw; but when TN knocked the ball loose from Loyola into the sidelines, we held our breaths, watching slo-mo replays from various angles, until the refs ruled that possession should go back to Loyola--and when, in the final 3 seconds, Loyola sank the winning (by 1 point) jump shot, the whole place went nuts. For the first time in 33 years, the Ramblers are in the Sweet Sixteen--and this is after a completely winless season last year! Every bar in Edgewater & Rogers Park will be packed Thurs. evening.

Still trying to be creative with what's in the fridge. Tonight was fresh mushrooms sauteed in butter (of course). Then I added sprialized zucchini & topped with beaten eggs. I ate it with two slices of dark pumpernickel to use as pushers - just like my Mother taught me. And a Malbec from Chile.

I really do like Malbec wine, whether from Chile or Argentina. It's usually decent and doesn't cost an arm & a leg if you just order a glass in a restaurant. I am certainly not a wine connoisseur, AND I do live with a budget, so this is one of my wines of choice.

MinusTwo - I do indeed live in San Francisco proper, and would love to meet you when next you're in town. I will be back at work by the time you're here in May, so midweek lunch would have to be somewhere near my office (also in SF.) Definitely PM me when you know your plans and we'll see if we can work something out!

Fajitas and Rita’s, yum!

Greek salad and grass-fed strip steak tonight. No wine, though--drank enough at St. Pat's Day dinner.

Oh Carole - hearing you say "behavioral reform" makes me feel guilty. I'm going to vow to get to Sliver Sneakers class both days this week & try to find some extra time for the treadmill. I know I have to put this in front of ANYTHING else, but I've been lax the last couple of weeks.

Eric - your healthy meals sound great.

I'm just hungry for bread!!! Oh well, and pasta. But I'm going to serve Lacey's cod dish on spiralized zucchini.

Maybe I will eat my 1/2 of a leftover baked potato for lunch & hope that will assuage the yearning. And maybe I'll go out and have a slice or two of pizza later this week.

Mazel tov, Egads!

Was going to have that leftover corned beef & cabbage for dinner, but after a strip of bacon, an egg, & a piece toast (plus coffee) I was feeling a bit full. Then Gordy came down with the flu (confirmed by nasal swab), type A--possibly the strain against which my flu shot likely won't protect me. Gonna watch my own symptoms and maybe head back to Immediate Care myself. We have the "family emergency stash" of Tamiflu on hand--take 1 pill immediately upon diagnosis, then fill one's own script. (Which was what Gordy just did). Now I have a mild headache. Gonna take my temperature and see if I'm okay to go vote (last day of early voting), because I might be in no shape to do it tomorrow on Primary Day. (Gordy voted last week).

Being sick sucks, I hope you manage to avoid it.

I recently bought concert tickets and got a promotional $35 off a Home Chef order (or some similar ingredients delivery service). Two meals for two people for $14 after the discount, good deal but not a full price. Tonight was seared chicken with a balsamic glaze, roasted green beans a a tomatoes pizzaiola. I added the baked zucchini bites as an extra side. It was pretty good, I may do something similar on my own, just tweaked a bit.

Oh Carole, good luck with the effexor. It was such a nightmare for me. Take your time with it. Do yourself a favor and ask your doc to prescribe the smaller dose tablets that you can break in half. I wish you the best.

I made ricotta, sauce and noodles yesterday and put them into a lasagna for tonight.I'll make a garlicky slaw to go with it.

Carole, they don't call it "side-Effexor" for nothing. Ask if there's another SSRI, SNRI or SDRI you can try that's more "transparent." I checked, and none in that class are contraindicated for those on AIs. (Bupropion, aka Wellbutrin, has worked well for me since 1999. Before that, Redux was great...but got yanked off the market).

And it's tree pollen season even this far north. This is the first week since last fall I've had to use my Ventolin almost every day. Trying to "ease the sneeze to ease the wheeze" (as my first allergist's NP used to say) is easier said than done--especially when also trying to keep cold or flu from taking hold makes nasal steroid sprays inadvisable.

Bob's working really late again tonight, especially since he slept in and then went to vote before going to work. Gonna order out tonight for whatever I feel like eating. (Gordy too). Or maybe walk over to Patio Beef tonight (a local Greek hot-dog & gyro palace) and see if they have Athenian chicken, or fried fresh smelts (tis the season). We're 4 blocks from the lake, and it's a local tradition for people in our neighborhood to head out in the wee hours with nets, buckets, thermoses of coffee and (technically illegal on Park Dist. property like city beaches) six-packs of beer to catch the smelt before dawn. (The beer & coffee are obviously not smelt bait). I love fresh fried smelt--just rinse, pat dry, dredge in seasoned flour (s&p, a little paprika & crushed herbes de Provence) and shallow-skillet fry in olive oil. Because you eat the whole thing (gutted at the fishmarket--I don't do the catch-em-on-the-beach thing), they're loaded with calcium from the bones. I could try grilling them, but I haven't done my spring gas grill-cleaning yet. (Not just grates, but cleaning spiderwebs out of the venturis, etc.). It's snowed just enough this year that I don't think the grill will start right up after only a grate-scouring.

We “Golden Girls" are nostalgic for the time when we had to take only one medication per day.

DownNotOut, that salad sounds delicious. I remember the day I started taking the little white pill, Arimidex. I had read the entire discussion forum on the subject and was prepared for all sorts of SEs. The first day I took the pill in the morning and felt like a 90-year-old that day. I took the 2nd pill at night and continued for 5 years.

I blamed weight gain, higher bp, higher cholesterol on the little white pill. When I discontinued the pill after 5 years, actually 4 3/4 years, the weight gain and other so-called SEs stayed with me. I think aging and discontinuing HRT played a big role in the health changes. Lack of estrogen does not make a happy female body.

With all that said, good luck with taking Tamoxifen. Hope it does its job without destroying your quality of life.

Last night's dinner was a pork steak, breaded with panko and cooked very brown in the air fryer. Sides of butternut squash with small addition of butter and brown sugar and a delicious romaine salad.

Dessert was dark chocolate Easter candy made by a candy company in this area. Always dread/anticipate Easter season because this candy is available everywhere in milk and dark chocolate.

DNO, I agree, your salad sounds delicious! Best of luck with your meds! The good thing about AI meds, acc to my MO, is that you can shift to another one if you find side effects too bothersome. Tho I bet you know all that from an AI relevant thread.

Illimae, I'm curious if you found the prep for that meal (looked delish) you posted long and involved? I ask because I found that there were so many little steps to each Purple Carrot meal I made while staying at my son's home, I was going nuts! I have obviously streamlined my cooking style in my old age! And if I do make something that has lots of steps, I like to at least have leftovers, but of course, Purple Carrot has a meal for two measured out!

Speaking of Purple Carrot, one meal I did like was chickpea flour crusted eggplant rounds topped with a spead of hummus on warmed pita. So last night I made that eggplant and we had it on Naan with spread of spinach/artichoke hummus, topped with red leaf lettuce, red onion and a red pepper sauce. It was tasty, although I don't often cook things in a generous amount of oil. We also finished the leftover French onion soup I made on Sunday.

Minus, I should mention that on Monday I resisted paying $14 lb for cod, so made my puttanesca fish sauce meal with shrimp, over orzo. It was fine, but I love that meal with nice fresh cod.

Tonight we will probably have an assortment of leftovers unless I decide to head to the store in the snow.

Carole, sending you calming wishes as you wean off Effexor. Canada not sounding like a bad option these days......

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Shrimp puttanesca over orzo. Mixed green salad. Mixed olives, parmesan (Batali would not approve, but he has lost his say!)

Eggplant dinner described earlier

Made the Orange Chicken meal we got last weekend from Omaha Steaks. Added some fresh asparagus in it when it was cooking